1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to food preservation bags, and more particularly to vacuum seal indicators for use in connection with such bags
2. Description of the Related Art
Commercially available vacuum sealing systems are designed primarily for home usage by consumers who wish to extend the useful life of various foods. The vacuum sealing systems generally involve a vacuum sealer machine which evacuates the air from a bag in which food or other consumables have been disposed. Once the air has been removed, the vacuum sealing machine seals the bag to preserve freshness of foods contained therein.
The bags used in vacuum sealing systems can be comprised of high-density polyethylene, styrene based plastics or other types of plastic bags. The bags commonly consist of two opposing sheets of thin flexible plastic membrane. The two opposing sheets are often rectangular in shape to define four linear sides or edges. The two sheets are sealed around three of the four sides to form a bag-like structure with one open end which provides access to the interior of the bag. When the bag is to be sealed, food or other items are placed in the bag and the open end is positioned in a vacuum sealing machine. The vacuum sealing machine evacuates the air from the interior of the bag and forms a seal along the open end to enclose the contents of the bag. The most common approach to forming the seal involves heating the two opposing sheets along the open end of the bag to fuse the two sheets together along a seal line. For convenience of the user, some vacuum sealing systems are designed to make use of a continuous roll of tubular plastic sheeting from which plastic bags can be formed. The tubular plastic sheeting can be sealed at opposing ends to form a bag.